Jul 19, 2012

Regina and I have been co-teaching the K-2nd graders for our Wonderful Wednesday's program at Twin Oaks. Each age group is learning The Seven C's of History from Answers in Genesis. We have one hour to pack in each lesson, activities, games, prayers, and snacks. We have a real sneaky suspicion that our kids are the ones that are teaching us.

The timeline we are creating is posters with each week's C word that changed history.

Corruption week, the kids acted out the Adam and Eve story as they know it.

Finn was Adam and sidled up to Sarah and said, "Hey Eve, 'sup?"

They used modeling clay and pressed their own fossils.

We tried to impress them by staking balloons to show the width and height of the ark. You can see here how impressed they were. We ate our snack "inside the ark" and when it was time to go inside, they looked around confused. "Wait, we don't even get to play out here?"

We translated things they said into different languages for the Tower of Babel and played a rip roaring game of Jenga.

We had a full blown birthday party for the birth of Christ, cupcakes, candles, party blowers, and gift wrap. They wrote down their most prized possession and folded it up inside a box and wrapped it up to give to Jesus. Examples: my puppy, my bike, my iPod, my bible.

Regina and I pray every week that they are getting a small nugget of truth that teaches them a little bit more about the Bible, about God's promises, and increases their faith. There are times when no one's eyes are looking at us, one boy is pestering, one girl is screeching, one boy is sneaking a peek on his iPod, one girl is bossing and we feel defeated. And then the moment comes. An answer blows us away that shows they have heard, a little voice tells us that they prayed with their daddy to accept Christ in their heart last night, a prayer request that brings tears to my eyes, and praises that make me grin from ear to ear. And I repeat what Jesus says in Matthew 11:25... "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do."

Jul 11, 2012

There are some artists that we buy as soon as their new music hits the iTunes Store. I don't listen to clips, I don't read reviews, I just go straight to the BUY ALBUM button. Matthew West is one of them. The way that he uses his talent to tell stories in song of real people, real struggles, real hurt, and real love is God-given, Spirit-breathed amazing. He has a new song called Forgiveness that stopped me in my tracks. I wiped my tears and said a prayer of thanksgiving for ministry through music and praised God for Matthew West's gift.

It’s the hardest thing to give away
And the last thing on your mind today
It always goes to those that don’t deserve

It’s the opposite of how you feel
When the pain they caused is just too real
It takes everything you have just to say the word…

Forgiveness

It flies in the face of all your pride
It moves away the mad inside
It’s always anger’s own worst enemy
Even when the jury and the judge
Say you gotta right to hold a grudge
It’s the whisper in your ear saying ‘Set It Free’

Forgiveness

Show me how to love the unlovable
Show me how to reach the unreachable
Help me now to do the impossible

It’ll clear the bitterness away
It can even set a prisoner free
There is no end to what it’s power can do
So, let it go and be amazed
By what you see through eyes of grace
The prisoner that it really frees is you

Forgiveness

I want to finally set it free
So show me how to see what Your mercy sees
Help me now to give what You gave to me
Forgiveness

Music may not change our circumstances, but it can change how we react to our circumstances.

Urban Dictionary definitions: used mostly in the 80's to describe something awesome or excellent, surfer slang describing waves, the whitest word on the face of the earth except for gnarly that means AWESOME or sweet.

Ways to use it in a sentence:

That's totally tubular, dude!

I got an 'A' on that basket weaving test. Tubular!

Man, that wave I hit was TUBULAR!

That ride was tubular, man. Did you catch that?!

Nate surprised us with tractor tire tubes. I thought they were for lazily floating along with a book but I was so wrong. Worth every penny, the possibilities are endless. Dude.